A recent public consultation by the European Commission has revealed a clear consensus on the future of animal agriculture. With over 190,000 valid responses analysed, the report provides a mandate for modernising animal welfare standards across the EU.

It should be noted that the level of knowledge of EU and national animal welfare legislation varied across the respondent community. Whilst the majority had some or very good knowledge, 10% had no knowledge of animal welfare legislation.

Key findings:

• Overall the majority of respondents fully agreed that EU legislation regulating animal welfare at farm level does not ensure that farmed animals can express normal behaviour.
• A majority of companies, businesses and associations and public authorities fully or partly agreed that the coexistence of EU regulation, national rules and private standards brings unnecessary administrative burdens for EU farmers and business operators.
• A similar level of agreement was recorded for the statement that the nature of some EU requirements leads to differences in how Member States enforce them.
• A majority of respondents considered it very important or important to have a resilient and competitive agri-food sector. Strong consensus was recorded for having a future-proof agri-food sector that functions within planetary boundaries and a sector that values food, fosters fair working and living conditions.
• There was also a strong consensus regarding specific aspects of animal welfare such as phasing out of cages, the urgency to use alternatives to the systematic killing of male day old chicks, and support for the use of animal welfare indicators. In terms of AWI, these were considered to be useful for benchmarking purposes, and support policy monitoring.
• At a policy level, there is support to simplify legal provisions and make them clearer and more operational. And the need for equivalent animal welfare standards for food of animal origin imported from non-EU countries.

To access the report: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14671-On-farm-animal-welfare-for-certain-animals-modernisation-of-EU-legislation/public-consultation_en